Manufacturer Cleared In Lidle Plane Crash

Chrissie Cole

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A jury determined this week that the maker of the small plane piloted by New York Yankees pitcher, Cory Lidle, is not to blame for his death in 2006.

It took three hours for a federal jury in New York to return the decision that cleared Cirrus Design Corp. of allegations that the plane crash was due to faulty equipment. The trial lasted four weeks.

Pilot error was the cause of the crash that killed Lidle, 34, and his instructor Tyler Stranger, 26, according to lawyers for the aircraft company.

Their single-engine Cirrus SR-20 went down after slamming into the side of high-rise building while executing a U-turn, investigators said.

An attorney representing both widows says they plan to appeal the verdict to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan.